Armored vest



ARMORED vEsT Ralph W. Persico, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application February 21, 1955, Serial No. 489,814

1 Claim. (Cl. 22.5)

(Granted under rTitle 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, Without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to armored clothing such as armored vests.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the armor incorporated in wearing apparel as protection even against low velocity shell, mortar and grenade fragments, must be rather heavy, thick and relatively stii in order to provide the necessary resistance. When so modified however the garments would ordinarily be rendered almost entirely useless for combat soldiers unless some provision is made to provide maximum maneuverability while providing maximum protection at all times, particularly when it becomes necessary for the soldier to assume a prone position for tiring.

It is an object of the present invention therefore to modify the construction of armored apparel so as to permit relatively free movement of the arms, shoulders, back, etc., so that the wearer may have maximum maneuverability at all times and yet receive maximum protection from the armor.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to so construct the back of an armored vest or like garment, that sections of the back armor may have universal movement without in any way exposing the wearers body to the missiles referred to.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the back of the improved armored vest;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the back of the vest; and

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the lines 3-3 and 4 4 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings more specically, the numeral 1 indicates the armored vest generally and which is composed of a front portion 2, back 3, arm openings 4 and neck opening 5.

The back 3, which is the only portion of the garment with which the present invention is concerned, comprises a lower section 6 of armored material and a pair of upper sections 7 of the same material. This material, in order to accomplish its purpose of protecting the body of the wearer from low velocity shells and the like, must be rather thick and tough and therefore relatively stiff. The material shown in the present illustration is substantially the same as that disclosed in Ehlers Patent No.

nited States Patent C) 2,640,987, but it will be readily understood that other types of armor material may be employed, all having in common the element of stiffness and resistance to shell fragments, etc.

When a garment is provided with armor material it practically immobilizes the wearer and very materially reduces his eiectiveness in combat. It is for this reason that the armor material of the present invention is made up of a lower section 6 and a pair of upper sections 7 united in a manner to permit relative movement between the sections without exposing the wearers body to shell fragments, etc. In the present illustration the lower section 6, which is substantially coextensive with the Width of the wearers body, is suspended from the upper sections 7 by strips of flexible fabric 8 8 stitched or otherwise connected to the lower section 6 by lines of stitching 9 and to the upper sections 7 by similarsecuring means 10. Likewise the sections 7-7 are connected by a ilexible strip 11 having its vertical edges stitched to the respective sections by lines of stitching 12-12.

As shown more clearly in Figures 3 and 4, the lower section 6 overlaps the upper sections 7 and the two sections 7 have their adjacent edges in overlapping relationship, and these overlapping relations are maintained by the flexible strips 8 and il while permitting relative movement between the several sections 6 and 7. This flexibility incorporated in the back of theY armored garment provides maximum maneuverability while maintaining maximum protection. For instance, when the wearer changes from a standing position to a prone position the articulated arrangement of the sections 6 and 7 through the medium of the flexible sheets 8 and 11 permits the necessary freedom of movement of the wearers arms, neck, back, etc., thus preventing the back of the vest from riding up over the wearers neck so as to displace his helmet, or otherwise interfere with necessary activities of the wearer.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what I now consider to be the preferred form of the invention, but inasmuch as Various minor changes may be made in structural details it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In an armored vest or like of three sections of relatively stiff armor material, namely, a lower section substantially coextensive with the width of the wearers back, a pair of upper sections having their lower edges overlapping the upper edge of the lower section, said upper sections having their adjacent edges in overlapping relationship, a pair of laterally spaced sections of flexible material connecting said lower and upper sections to permit relative movement therebetween while maintaining the overlapping relationship, and a third section of flexible material connecting said upper sections to permit relative movement therebetween while maintaining the overlapping relationship.

garment, a back composed References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,084,173 Wexler June 15, 1937 2,251,018 Lookabaugh July 29, 1941 2,311,799 Wexler Feb. 23, 1943 2,369,416 Solomon Feb. 13, 1945 2,640,987 Ehlers June 9, 1954 

